I. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a containerization system and to containers which are particularly suitable for storing, packaging and transporting toxic or hazardous products, e.g. agricultural chemical compounds, such as pesticides and concentrates thereof.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
At present, most hazardous and toxic liquids are stored in metal drums, or where smaller quantities are involved, in plastic containers. Hazardous compounds, especially agrochemical compounds, are formulated in various compositions.
The expression toxic or hazardous compounds as used herein means an industrial chemical or agrochemical compound which, if released in the quantity or concentration normally in storage and shipping containers, may cause damage to the environment or be injurious to a person contacted by it.
With respect to agricultural chemicals, liquid compositions, particularly in the form of concentrates, are most convenient for farmers because of the relative ease with which they can be handled. There are, nevertheless, difficulties in handling such liquid compositions. There is a danger of spillage or leakage if holes develop in containers that are accidentally dropped and thereby crack or fail. Containers have been developed which possess great resistance to impact and shock. While such containers are secure under normal storage and handling conditions, in the event of an accident, for example during transporting, there remains an appreciable risk of spillage or leakage with rapid loss of liquid. Leakage of toxic and hazardous chemicals can create damage to the environment.
The chemical and packaging industries have long sought a secure container which provides sufficient safeguard for those handling it, such as farmers and transporters, as well as adequate protection of the environment. It is known, for example, to package agrochemicals in soluble bags or sachets made from water soluble films. However, there are some cases whereby the use of water soluble (or water dispersible, as always contemplated herein) bags is either impossible or of highly limited interest. This is or can be the situation when two or more agrochemicals are used together to treat a crop or any kind of plant(s) and when only one of them is used in the form of a water soluble bag. It is also or can be also the situation when two or more agrochemicals are used together to treat a crop or any kind of plant(s) and when the normal use of these agrochemicals is at a very different use rate. Indeed it is known that the use rate of some pesticides may vary on the order of 10 or even 100 times from one pesticide to another.
Another situation where the use of a water soluble bag for a pesticide has been considered up to now of no interest is the situation whereby incompatible agrochemicals are used. Incompatible agrochemicals are agrochemicals which, when added together in a concentrated form or in a tank for mixing, at least partially, agglomerate together and/or produce sediment at the bottom of the tank without being dispersed or emulsified in the tank when stirred. Other kinds of incompatible agrochemicals are agrochemicals which are chemically unstable when mixed together over time.
In the art of detergency or laundry, it is known to used systems with one inner bag, or sachet, in an outer pouch (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,992 or European patent application 132726), however these known systems comprise an outer water-permeable pouch or bag. Such water permeable pouches are in fact water-insoluble, and thus they are not appropriate for uses wherein the whole containerization system has to disappear when put in water. This is especially the situation of farmers who disperse agrochemicals in water tanks in order to obtain a spraying mixture.
Unfortunately the use of more than one agrochemical by farmers to treat their crop is more and more common, and the farmers like very much the so-called ready-mix which are mixtures that the farmers may use directly for dilution in their tank. Thus, the ready mix practice does not yet fit to the water soluble bag technology.